Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated
Credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT
As I stood outside the White House grounds at 6am, queuing to collect my press pass for Donald Trump’s rally, it was clear that the day would not end peacefully.
Despite the early hour and the chilly January weather, a steady stream of Trump supporters was already filling the streets.
Some had clearly come prepared for combat: clad in riot gear and clutching megaphones. Others carried large flag poles with messages like "stop the steal" — a reference to Mr Trump’s claims the election was stolen from him.
As they passed by the press line, many took the opportunity to vent their frustrations at the reporters covering the demonstration.
"Fake news!" some chanted at us. “Why don’t you tell the truth?” another asked.
One burly man sporting a body vest made a beeline for us. "You’re going to burn in hell,” he yelled.
Our Washington Correspondent @RozinaSabur reports on the ground at the #StopTheSteaI rally and speaks to some of @realDonaldTrump's supporters
👉Follow our live blog for all the latest: https://t.co/m6CfQcrBSd pic.twitter.com/oplBo7sKcX
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 6, 2021
It’s an experience I’ve grown accustomed to in more than three years covering Mr Trump’s presidency for The Telegraph, but one that has never stopped concerning me.
Later, as I watched Mr Trump speaking from the press pen on the Ellipse, I saw again how the president had the ability to rile up his supporters against the press.
Instructing the crowd to turn and look at us, a diverse group of reporters huddled together from various news outlets, Mr Trump said: "The media is the biggest problem we have as far as I’m concerned".
I was struck by one woman in particular, dressed in camouflage colours, who turned and pointed menacingly at us. "We’re coming for you," she said, pointing at each of us in turn. "Just you wait."
It was a taste of the anger and violence that was to come later in the day.
As Mr Trump urged the crowd to march on the US Capitol, where Congress was about to begin formally certifying the election result, some did not even wait for him to finish speaking to follow the directive.
As they made their way along Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill, more than 1.5 miles away, chants of "stop the steal" and "do not certify" rang out through the city’s streets.
HAPPENING NOW: Protesters outside the Capitol chase away an @AP camera crew and destroy their equipment. pic.twitter.com/4R5dj4vK27
— Jake K. Turx (@JakeTurx) January 6, 2021
One man clad in body armour, who did not want to be named, said he had come to encourage "patriots" to protect the US Constitution, and fight against what he believed was the certification of a "fraudulent election result".
"Those people [congressmen] are committing treason," he told me.
As the crowd approached the Capitol building, it was clear the heated rhetoric was now spilling over into real violence.
The Capitol’s police appeared powerless to stop the tide of people scaling fences and forcing their way into the building.
Officers were overwhelmed. Swarms of protesters managed to break into the building and roam the corridors of the Congress.
Congressmen who had gathered in the Senate and the House of Representatives to certify the election results were forced to abandon the proceedings and shelter in their offices.
The angry mob had taken on a righteous tone as they yelled "this is our house" and "you work for us".
As I roamed around the premises conducting interviews and capturing footage for The Telegraph’s live coverage of the day, I was again reminded that the press pass around my neck also made me a target. "Murder the media" had been written on one door inside the Capitol.
Rioters left this message inside The United States Capitol pic.twitter.com/jxH6Rwq2dM
— Anthony Quintano (@AnthonyQuintano) January 6, 2021
A short while later I heard that the Associated Press’ camera crew had been forced to abandon their equipment as the crowd turned on them. Pictures soon emerged of noose made from the camera cords being hung from a tree.
The crowds moved out of the Capitol as teargas began filling the air, but appeared unwilling to retreat much further.
As I stood interviewing one rioter outside the building, police began firing flash bangs into the crowd.
Many, like the man I was interviewing, were undeterred. "Death is the only remedy for what’s in that building," he told me, the anger and hatred clear to read on his face.
Just then my phone pinged, alerting me to a video message Mr Trump had just tweeted out. As I stood and watched the video, I could hear the president’s words — repeating his claims of a "stolen election" — playing from the phones of his supporters all around me.
Many continued towards the Capitol building even as they watched him speak.
Hours later, the police took control and the mob finally cleared and lawmakers returned to the Capitol.
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